Tiquicia - Restaurant Review

mnsrconnoisseur | 01 June, 2009 12:32

I consider Tiquicia to be a must-visit restaurant for someone who is
visiting Costa Rica, and wants to get a flavor of the real local
culinary culture. The specialty at Tiquicia is typical Costa Rican
food.

The restaurant is located WAY UP in San Antonio de Escazú. I have
emphasized WAY UP, because it is pretty much at the top. If you have a
junker of a car, it is probably best not to venture the trip, and the
same goes for hitching a ride with an older taxi. Make sure that your
vehicle has some power.

I visited Tiquicia at night. The restaurant and bar is somewhat
rustic, adding to the traditional Costa Rican feel of the place, and it
is fairly sizable. The grounds outside are well kept and there is some
room to walk around, including a kids swing set. Over the period of
time that we were dining there, a lot of people
arrived and were seated. By the time we left, the parking lot was
pretty much full. However due to the place's size, at no time did we
ever feel
crowded.

The view of the city from the restaurant is nothing short of
spectacular. I have been to the White House, Hotel Pico Blanco, and
the Monastery, and I can say with every conviction that the view from
Tiquicia is by far the best that I have seen thus far. At night, with
the whole city glowing below, it was breathtaking.

The service was, well, laid back. I don't want to say it was slow
per se, but it certainly wasn't super attentive either. The waiters
were polite and friendly, and in fairness, they had a lot of ground to
cover. And with the beautiful view, it was certainly less than painful
to relax and enjoy any necessary wait for food, drinks, etc.

I ordered a pork "casado". A casado is a very common Costa Rican
dish that you will find offered in almost every soda (small cafeteria)
in the entire country. It usually consists of a meat (fish, chicken,
pork, or beef) rice, beans, salad, and perhaps some fried platano. One
of my companions had a fish casado, and my other companion ordered pork
"a la plancha". The three of us shared an appetizer of some fried
yucca fritters. I had a cold Bavaria dark beer, and one of my
companions ordered a Sprite. The casados were probably around twice the
size of those that you would find offered in most places, and were also
noticably better prepared. Granted, they were still casados -- they
were not magically transformed into escargot in garlic butter. But as
far as typical Costa Rican food goes, Tiquicia is probably pretty much
the top of the line. There were other typical Costa Rican dishes on
the menu, including olla de carne (a typical type of beef stew), gallo
pinto (Costa Rican style beans and rice), and pozol (whole corn
typically cooked in pork fat), so you can take your pick of local
foods, according to your preference.

The price for the three of us was around $50. Yes, that is a LOT
more than one would pay at a soda, and is costly for typical food.
Still, in a place like this one expects to pay a little extra just for
the view. Further, the quantity and preparation were superior to most
restaurants I have been to that offer typical food, so I considered the
price to be fair. Hotel Pico Blanco, for example, which is reviewed
elsewhere in this blog, offers typical food of far lesser quality, and
I am sure would be more expensive for a similar amount of food (and an
inferior view, though it was still very nice as far as the view was
concerned).

Tiquicia features some interesting traditional events including live
Costa Rican dancing, as well as live music
on the weekends. Unfortunately our timing was such that we had
finished our meal and were leaving about 15 minutes before the live
music started. As such I can't comment much on the quality of the
entertainment that they offer. Judging by the quality of everything
else, it would probably be worth going to see.

Try out Tiquicia for yourself and tell us about your experiences in the comments section of this blog.

M.C.

Note:
Tiquicia is located in San Antonio de Escazú. There is a sign pointing
the way to the restaurant -- you need to turn off to the right (and
continue up the mountain) after you have gone up to San Antonio, but
before you have veered to the left to enter San Antonio Centro. For
reservations call 2289-5839 or 8828-1280. The restaurant is closed on
Mondays, is open from 5pm to Midnight on Tuesday through Friday, from
1pm to Midnight on Saturdays, and from Noon to 6pm on Sundays.